MOSCOW, January 4. /TASS/. Residential fires in Russia fell by 18,000 in 2023 against the prior year, the press service of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies told TASS.

"Almost 92,000 residential fires took place in 2023. This is 18,000 less than in the prior year," the press service said.

"More than 40% of all residential fires occurred due to violations of electric equipment installation and operation rules. Careless handling of fire becomes the cause of each third fire in a house or in an apartment," minister Alexander Kurenkov said, cited by the press service. The death toll from fires was about 7,500 last year, which is just slightly smaller than in 2022, the minister added.